Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

When you leave Holden:

Coping strategies

1) Allow for tears for up to two weeks, and yes shopping is overwhelming and the amount of plastic waste in this country is atrocious!

2)  Be gentle on yourself. People in the outside world don't walk around singing, saying hello, and dropping everything they are doing to help unload your groceries.  (It is ok to cry after shopping, maybe even necessary.)

3) You must stop crying then..Good God, Pull yourself together Man! Seriously two weeks of tears is quite enough.

4) Get a dog!  They are a pain in the butt but they are always happy to see you and can overlook your Holden clothing atire unlike the rest of the outside world.

5) Have someone who has been living in civilization take you shopping for things that might look like the cloths everyone else is wearing. Thrift shops are perfectly acceptable shopping venues although beware they do sell items resembling some of the sparkly night dresses often found at Holden formals (typially donated by Judy Clark.)  I have found that sparkly buttless dresses don't go over well as normal daily atire out here.

6) Keep sorting your trash.  I know it is time consuming and tedious but at least you are not sorting garbage from chalet 1 parties.

7) Have a service in your back yard at least once a week even if it is just a couple of you.  Light candles and sing songs.

8)  Eat lots of sushi and take long walks.

9)  Find a sacred place in nature close to where you live and go there often.  Memorize the textures and colors and make it yours.

10)  You are not at Holden anymore so, light candles and find time to be quiet.

11)  Also give yourself big scoops of ice cream.

12)  Buy yourselves a settlers game and teach a couple people how to play it.

13)  Find people tp play cribbage with.

14)  Swim with dolphins.

15)  You can Knit anywhere...make a hat!

16)  Visit as many different kinds of spiritual services as you can in a week.  You would be surprised at how many places have evening services on week nights.

17)  Find a Labryinth and walk it.

18)  Don't let the phone take you away from being a part of life.  It is a tool.  Use it, don't let it use you.

19)  Find other people who love Holden and share favorite stories.

20)  Exercise and pray.

21)  Take long drives (not too often because gas is expensive and wasteful, but it is fun to see new things and have a different freedom of movement.)

22)  Make lists of the things you are enjoying on the outside and things you would like to do.

23)  Ride a roller coaster.

24)  Pets are essential for rentry even a fish will do.

25)  Visit friends you havent seen in a while.

26)  Try new food.

27)  Go on a diet there is no one out here making fresh bread for you.

28)  Go on dates without everyone you know watching and talking about it.

29) When you are done with your diet learn how to bake bread.

30) Collect fall leaves and make a collage.

31)  Find ways to celebrate the seasons they happen everywhere even in California.